DISABLED SERVICE MEN

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 74, 20 December 1919, Page 5

DISABLED SERVICE MEN

BRITAIN'S EFFORTS 5,000 FIRMS ANSWER THE KING'S APPEAL

Sinco tho . King's National 801 l was oreated by Royal Proclamation, 5000 firms and public bodies in Great Britain have given an undertaking to employ as many disabled ex-Servic-o men as possible, with a minimum of 5 per cent, of their total establishment, including men, women, and juveniles. .Tivo thousand of ■ these firms, according to_ "The Times," are already employing their full quota, and tho operation of tho echemo has resulted, in a little over n month, in tho names of 14,000 disabled soldiers being removed from the books of tho Employme'nt Exchange. When tjio Roll was started it was limited' to employers employing 10 or , more workers. The 6chemo has now been extended to include small employers, who, by taking in oven one disabled man, can help in the work of absorbing into industry men. whose self-sacrifice has helned to save tho Empire. There arc still somo 80,000 ex-Service mijn. maimed in tho war, who are either seeking employment now, or will be ready to work ns they are discharged from the hospitals. Experience is showing that use can be made of partially disabled men even in the heavy trades. The Kirkstall Forge Company at Leeds has among its workers 8.6G per cent, who come under the category of disabled, and a West Hartlepool firm is employing men on''cranes and presses who have lost part of their hands, (irms. or phonlders. Of the staff at the Middlesbrough Gas Works 11.4 per cent, nre disabled soldiers.

Willing Firms. It seems likely that the men for whom emoloyment is sought, under the scheme, will ho tetributed over a wide rang? of Industries. The following are among tho latest firms and undertakings which have pledged themselves to the 5 per cent, quota:—Liverpool Gns Company, the Hastings. Colchester, and Bath Tram- ■ ways, Mile End and Stepney -Boards of Guardians, Stepney Borough Council Electricity Department, Bath fias Company. Bradford Dyers' Association,, British "Petroleum Company, sugar refiners like Messrs. Henry Tate and Sons and Mfssrs! M'Fie nn<l Sons; "The Times ' "Mornin* Post," anil "Daily Telegraph newspapers; the Civil Service Co-p"i*ra-tive Society, the Junior Army and Vary Stores, the Nestle and Aiiglo-Swifs nindensed Milk Company, Dover Har'viir Board. Dover Corporation Tramways, Messrs. Rufton. and Pons (seed merchants), Messrs. Bibby and Sons.(oj] refiners), the Darrncq Motor Engineering Company, 'the' Gas Light end Coke Company, Mewrs. Thomas Tillinw, Messrs, Bfisjs, "RaMiff and Gretton. Messrs. Barclay, Perkins and Co.,' the Great Gr'msby Coal; Salt and Tanning Company,-and the Wilkinson Sword Company. The railways companies throughout the country favour the principle of 'the scheme and have been asked by the Hallway Executive Committee to circularise their district staff euperntendents, instructing them to give preference' to disabled ek'Service men. The number of disabled men absorbed by tho railways ■before the scheme was launched had already reached 3 to I per cent, of their total cmriloyMs. The president of the Pianoforte Ximifrieturers , Araociation, Sir Herbert 'Marshall, has written to the Ministry of Infomr stating that the members of Ks arsiiillv m flympnthy with the scheme, and >bave fcTinpd a trnin ; n? centre to accommodate a InTBB number of men. whom tho, mnnufacturerq have a?re<vl to toke into their employment when the training, has been completed. ,